Personal Development Psychology

cat_lion

Personal Development refers to activities that: enhance self-knowledge and identity, develop talents and potential, improve human capital and employability, enhance quality of life and realize dreams and aspirations.
At the level of self-improvement, personal development includes the following:
  • Becoming the person one aspires to be; integrating social identity with self-identification.
  • Increasing awareness or defining of one’s priorities, values, chosen way of life or ethics.
  • Strategizing and realizing dreams, aspirations, career and lifestyle priorities.
  • Developing professional potential and talents; developing individual competencies, learning on the job.
  • Improving the quality of lifestyle in such areas as health, wealth, culture, family, friends and communities.
  • Learning techniques or methods to expand awareness, gain control of one's life or achieve wisdom.

At whatever level of development -- economic, political, biological, organizational or personal --- a framework is needed in order to know if improvement has actually occurred. Personal development frameworks consist of goals or benchmarks that define the end-point, strategies or plans for reaching goals, measurement and assessment of progress, levels or stages that define milestones along the development path, and a feedback system to support progress.

Personal Development in Psychology

In 1998 personal development moved from the fringes of psychology to a central position when Martin Seligman was elected President of the American Psychological Association and proposed a new focus, on healthy individuals rather than pathology:

We have discovered that there is a set of human strengths that are the most likely buffers against mental illness: courage, optimism, interpersonal skill, work ethic, hope, honesty and perseverance. Much of the task of prevention will be to create a science of human strength whose mission will be to foster these virtues in young people.

The Goals of Personal Development Include:

  • Develop competence
  • Manage emotions
  • Achieve autonomy and interdependence
  • Develop mature interpersonal relationships
  • Establishing identity
  • Develop purpose
  • Develop integrity
Positive Psychology
positive_psychology

Positive psychologists seek to find and nurture genius and talent, and to make normal life more fulfilling, not simply to treat mental illness.
Positive Psychology focuses on the virtues and strengths such as:
  • Wisdom and Knowledge: creativity, curiosity, open-mindedness, love of learning, perspective, innovation
  • Courage: bravery, persistence, integrity, vitality, zest
  • Humanity: love, kindness, social intelligence
  • Justice: citizenship, fairness, leadership
  • Temperance: forgiveness and mercy, humility, prudence, self control
  • Transcendence: appreciation of beauty and excellence, gratitude, hope, humor, spirituality

Positive Psychology focuses on positive experiences:
 
Mindfulness, defined as actively searching for novelty, is also characterized as non-judging, non-striving, accepting, patient, trusting, open, letting go, gentle, generous, empathetic, grateful, and kind. Its benefits include reduction of stress, anxiety, depression, and chronic pain.
Flow, or a state of absorption in one's work, is characterized by intense concentration, loss of self-awareness, a feeling of control, and a sense that "time is flying." Flow is an intrinsically rewarding experience, and it can also help one achieve a goal (e.g. winning a game) or improve skills (e.g. becoming a better chess player).

Spirituality is associated with mental health, managing substance abuse, marital functioning, parenting, and coping. It has been suggested that spirituality also leads to finding purpose and meaning in life.

Self-efficacy is one's belief in one's ability to accomplish a task by one's own efforts. Low self-efficacy is associated with depression; high self-efficacy can help one overcome abuse, overcome eating disorders, and maintain a healthy lifestyle. High self-efficacy also improves the immune system, aids in stress management, and decreases pain.

Copyright 2010

© 2010 StarOverSky Consulting (Toronto, Canada)